Conventional supply chains for fresh produce involve the shipment of fresh fruits and vegetables to retail points of sale such as grocery retailers, and more recently to integrated distribution centers for a common chain of grocery retailers. Previously, the containers used for shipping fresh produce included a variety of shapes and sizes, and were made from a variety of materials. For example, fresh produce was shipped in open-top storage bins, corrugated boxes, crates and plastic containers among others. Recently, there has been a movement to standardize the shipment containers for fresh produce in order to maximize the use of shipping pallets and shipping containers. Shipping pallets are typically 40 inches by 48 inches. As a result of this movement, two types of standard shipping containers have emerged. The first is known as Returnable Plastic Containers (“RPC”), made from polyethylene, polypropylene or other suitable plastic material, and the second is a corrugated shipping container. Each of these containers conforms to the accepted industry standard sizes, which are either approximately 23.5 inches by 17.6875 inches or 19.5 inches by 17.6875 inches creating a standard footprint for produce shipping. Depending on which container size is preferred, either five or six containers may fit across a base layer of a shipping pallet.
Supply chain management in the fresh produce industry is rapidly evolving as a result of new technologies and a focus on improved efficiency, quality and safety. These concerns have caused governing bodies, such as the California Table Grape and Tree Fruit League, to require all shipments of certain produce to be shipped covered, rather than open-top. This was done to prevent dust, dirt and light from contaminating the produce, to reduce the risk of pilferage and to otherwise improve the quality of the shipping process. Other benefits include reducing the likelihood of slip and fall accidents due to produce falling out of shipping containers. After seeing the benefits of certain produce being shipped covered, grocery retailers have began to demand that all produce be shipped covered.
Typically, the supply chain for produce shipment involves first harvesting the produce at the farm where it is packed in one of the two above described shipping containers. The containers are preferably covered immediately after they are packed, to reduce the possibility of contamination. The covered containers are shipped to a cold storage facility by truck. Alternatively, the containers may be shipped from the farm to the cold storage facility as open-top containers and then covered at the cold storage facility. The covered containers are then either shipped to a grocery retailer, or a distribution center for a grocery retailer, also by truck. Once the produce arrives at the retailer, it is unloaded from the truck at the loading dock and the covers are discarded. The produce is typically displayed for sale in the containers itself.
In response to demands for eliminating open-top shipping, corrugated covers have been used to cover produce shipments in corrugated containers. Problems have arisen with the use of corrugated covers. The locking feature on the corrugated covers is not very effective, causing the covers to be easily blown off or knocked off the produce shipment boxes when in use. Another disadvantage of corrugated covers is the stiffness of the material, which may cause damage to the produce during shipment. For example, if box were filled with produce and a portion of the produce protruded above the top of the box, the corrugated cover would apply unwanted pressure to the produce, creating undesirable damage. A third disadvantage to corrugated covers is the thickness, which limits the amount of covers which can be shipped in a shipping container or a truck load, as well as the amount of covered boxes which can be stacked in a truck used for shipping the produce. For example, if using corrugated covers, each truck may be stacked only 17 corrugated containers high. The thickness of the corrugated material also causes the corrugated covers to occupy a large amount of warehouse space when stored prior to use, creating increased cost associated with these types of covers. Additionally, corrugated covers have not been configured to accommodate RPC containers.